Leaf match case assembly



Aug. 16, 1960 L. E. SMITH LEAF MATCH CASE ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 25, 1960 I Tra ed E) ci States This invention relates to a leaf match case construction and more particularly to an assembly which provides a means of mounting matches and a package of cigarettes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a match case construction of novel form which is made from a flexible strip of material andwhich is properly scored and folded to provide effective match cover and at the same time a storage chamber adjacent thereto adapted to receive a package of cigarettes.

It is further object to provide in said flexible strip a portion which is reverse folded downwardly to form a cover to a backing element overlying a book of matches mounted on said backing, and with rearward folding of portions of the strip upon opposite sides of the backing defining side walls and a rear wall.

It is a further object to provide in the present leaf match case assembly and as part of the flexible strip portions foldable outwardly of the cover element, extensions of the side wall portions which likewise are reverse folded downwardly adapted to cooperatively engage said side walls, and which are so slotted and constructed that said cover and folded side elements thereof may be normally retained in the match case closing position, andwhich may be manually tilted to extend normally outward of the backing to permit manual access to said matches. 7

It is a further object to provide a pattern for the present combination leaf match case and cigarette package holder, wherein upon proper scoring and folding of the respective elements of the strip the cover will normally retain itself so as to overlie and close the book of matches, but which upon the application of a lifting force may be elevated to permit access to the said matches, said cover upon partial return movement to its original folding position will resiliently snap into completely closed position.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specification and claims in conjunction :with the appended drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a flexible strip from which the present combination case is formed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the initial folding steps to form the combination case.

Fig. 3 is another perspective view illustratinga. subsequent folding step towards a final assembly.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the article with the strip in its finally folded position of use.

It will be understood that the above drawing illustrates merely a preferred embodiment of the invention and that other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claims hereafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing, the flexible strip of material from which the present match case combination is formed is generally indicated at 11 and is constructed of leather, paper, cardboard, plastic or other suitable material. The said strip 11 as hereafter described includes a seriesof score lines for appropriate folding to form the finished article shown in Fig. 4. p

The finished article includes as a part of said strip ICQ v 2 the back or rear wall 12, scored at 13 and 14, Fig. I, to define the top wall 15 joined to said rear wall throughout a limited portion of its width, said top wall terminating in the upright depending closure tab 16 shown inFig. 4 in its finally assembled position.

The rear wall 12 is scored as indicated at 17 in dotted lines to define the bottom wall 18 in turn scored at 19 to define the closure tab 20 which is normally folded at right angles to bottom wall 18 and is adapted to project into chamber 50, Fig. 4, or to otherwise cooperatively engage the backing 29 forming the front of the storage compartment.

Bottom wall 18 has an elongated slot 21 formed therethrough adapted to cooperatively receive when in folded position the rear cover 46 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and forming a part of the book of matches 45 as a means of mounting the said book of matches upon the backing While it is contemplated that the said closure tab 20 normally projects upwardly into the interior of the storage compartment 50, as shown in the drawings the said closure tab 20 may be cut away at 23 to define a pair of fastening flaps or tabs 24 adapted to retainingly register within the upright slots 36 formed in backing 29 as shown in Fig. 2 when assembled. This may be employed, if desired, however, it is contemplated that the said slots 36 and the respective individual fastening tabs 24 could be omitted and the tab 20 being perfectly plain for retaining projection within the interior of compartment 50 adjacent the interior surface of backing 29.

Referring again to Fig. 1, the strip 11 is additionally vertically scored as at 25, 26, and 27 to thus define a pair of spaced upright portions 28 and 30 upon opposite sides of backing 29 and which are adapted to-provide the side walls 28 and 30 upon proper folding as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

One of the side walls 30, for illustration, is desirably connected or secured with a portion of the backwall or rearwall 12 to complete the assembly of the container. For this purpose and in the preferred embodiment, a pair of vertically spaced elongated slots 31 are formed within the wall 30 and are adapted to cooperatively receive the pair of fastening flaps 32 defined in the tab 34 as cutaway at 33, the said tab 34 being foldable along the dotted line 35 shown in Fig. 1 to complete the assembly shown in Fig. 2.

This provides one convenient means of completing the container for the package of cigarettes which may be stored within chamber-50. It is contemplated however, that the side wall 30 could be otherwise secured to rear wall 12 by an adhesive of other means.

Referring again to Fig.-1 portions of the flexible strip 11 are additionally scored horizontally as-at the dotted lines 37 to thus provide a fold line for the cover 39 which is adapted to be reverse folded over'backing 29, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 so as to cover the book of matches45. I The stripis additionally scored at 42, vertically so as to define with respect to the cover 39, the pair of outer cover portions 38, which are arranged laterally ofthe backing 29 and form extensions of the side walls 28 and 30 respectively, being adapted to be reverse folded relative to fold line 37 for cooperative engagement with the sidewalls 28 and 30 as shown in Fig. 4.

A pair of cut-outs or slots 41 are formed the cover 39 adjacent. its upright side portions 38 to facilitate flexing of the said cover 39 and associated side portions 38 to the position shown" in Fig.- 3 and to the position shown in Fig. 4. There is also shown the, dotted fold line 40 to cause a portion of cover 39 to facilitate slight bending or folding of the cover when, in use, as shown in Fig. 4 and to facilitate manipulation;

through of the cover from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1, it is seen that the outerportions 38 of the said cover actually form upright extensions of the sides 28 and 30 before folding and when folded are adapted to extend rearwardly at right angles to backing 29, as shown in Fig. 4. The said side portions 38 in view of the scoring 42 or fold line 42 and the cutouts 41 are of a flexible character. Accordingly, when the cover 39 of Fig. 2 is folded downwardly along the fold line 37 to the position shown in Fig. 3, the outer cover elements 33 flexes slightly outward and are inclined downwardly. However, as the cover 39 if further folded so as to cooperatively position over the book of matches 45 in registry with backing 2.9, the said cover extensions 38 extend rearwardly at right angles to portions of the said cover for cooperative engagement loosely with the sides 28 and 30.

In my earlier Patent No. 2,853,184 dated September 23, 1958, relating to a match case construction, the strip was so constructed that when the strip was so folded that the side walls extended rearwardly, the cover 25 in the said patent reverse folded downwardly automatically and was fixedly retained in the closed position overlying the upper portions of the matches at all times maintaining the same covered. The folding of the strip was such that once the sides were secured, the said cover could not be lifted. The said cover only extended part way down the matches so that the matches could be manually grasped below the said cover.

In the present embodiment of the invention representing an improved structure, the cover 39 and its adjacent side members 38 are so folded and slotted as at 41-42 that the formation of the sides 28 and 30 in their positioning to the assembled position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 is completely independent of the cover 39. Accordingly, after the initial formation as shown in Fig. 2 defining the container itself and compartment 50, the cover 39 extends in an upright position with, the side extensions 38 thereof extending substantially rearward practically at right angles thereto.

In view of the slots 41, however, when the cover 39 is tilted downwardly of the position in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3, the said side strips 38 are of sufficient flexibility as to extend outwardly and downwardly as shown in Fig. 3. However when the cover 39 is moved in an additional 90 degrees to the position shown in Fig. 4 so as to completely enclose the book of matches, then the side elements 38 forming a portion of the cover, take the rearwardly extended position shown in Fig. 4 adjacent the side walls 28 and 30.

The construction is such that the cover will normally be retained resiliently in the closed position shown in Fig. 4 and against accidental dislodgment; however, by a limited lifting force applied to the cover, the same may be flexed upwardly to a position Fig. 3 for access to the matches.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a horizontally disposed slot 43 adjacent the upper end of backing 29 and in alignment with the fold line 37. This additional slot 43 is for the purpose of cooperatively receiving a portion of the cover 46 of the book of matches 45 shown in Fig. 3, it being contemplated that the free end portion of the conventional cover for the book of matches may extend through the said slot 43 outwardly thereof from the position shown in Fig. 3. The lower portion of the backing 29 is undercut or slotted as at 44 to provide clearance for the reverse folded front portion 47 of the match case cover at the lower end of the row of matches 48.

The said matches, 48, of paper or equivalent construction have a unitary backing usually at their lower ends and are positioned within the said cover base 47 and stapled thereto. as at 49 with the flexible cover 46 in a conventional construction normally extending over the backs of the matches and down over the front portion thereof completely enclosing the same.

In the present construction, all that is necessary to mount the book of matches 45 upon the backing 29, is to open the cover 46 and to feed the leading free edge of the cover upwardly through the slot 21 in the bottom wall 18 so that the said cover extends along the interior surface of backing 29. If the cover is sufliciently long, it may then extend through the upper slot 43 and said backing and extend downwardly, if desired. Under certain conditions, it may be desirous to cut off a portion of the cover 46. In that case, the tiltable cover 39 is relied upon as the front cover for the matches 48.

It is noted also that the closure tab 20 for bottom wall 18 as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 has an undercut central slot 22. This is for the purpose of providing clearance for the staple 49 as the match case cover is threaded upwardly through the slot 21 for close registry with backing 29.

In assembling the present combination match case and cigarette package holder, the strip shown in Fig. l is first folded to provide the construction shown in Fig. 2. Accordingly, it is initially folded along the lines 35, 25, 26 and 27 to thus complete the rear wall 12, the side walls 28 and 30 and the backing or front wall 29, so as to define the storage compartment 50, Fig. 4.

It is noted from Fig. 1 that the strip to the right of Fig. 1 is folded along the fold line 25 forwardly of the plane of the drawing so that element 28 becomes the right side wall and with additional folding element 29 becomes the backing or front wall with element 30 becoming the other sidewall as shown in Fig. 4. With the interlock of the fastening tabs 32 relative to the side wall slots 31, or with any other suitable means of securing, the base portion of the container is completed. The bottom wall 18 is defined by folding along the lines 17 and 19 so that the tab 20 either projects upwardly upon the interior of backing 29 or employs the fastening tabs 24 for interlocking engagement with the upright slots 36 and the backing. This completes the construction shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3 the cover 39 has been folded degrees downwardly and in Fig. 4 the cover 39 has been completely reverse folded to the match enclosing position shown. At the same time, the side portions of the cover at 38 extend rearwardly substantially at right angles to the cover proper 39, the said cover being slightly flexed outwardly along the line 40 relative to the cut-outs 41. At the same time, the strip is additionally folded along the dotted lines 13 and 14 to define the partial cover 15 and the downwardly extending closure tab 16.

To introduce a package of cigarettes into chamber 50 the tab 16 and cover 15 are moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, and then reassembled as shown in Fig. 4 so as to engage over a portion of the top of the package of cigarettes which may be positioned snugly within chamber 50.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to the following claims.

I claim:

1. A leaf match case comprising a flexible strip of material, including an upright backing, a book of leaf matches lying against and mounted upon said backing, an upper portion of said strip. above said backing being re verse folded downwardly forming a self retaining cover overlying said book of matches and backing, upright portions of said strip upon both sides of said backing and outer portions of said cover laterally of said backing flexibly joined to upper ends of said upright portions as extensions thereof reverse folded downwardly into engagement therewith extending rearwardly at right angles to said backing, said upright portions defining a pair of side walls, at least one of said side walls terminating in an inwardly directed right angularly related rear wall parallel to and spaced from said backing and joined to a ivw ma the other side wall defining an upright chamber of rectangular cross section adapted to receive a package of cigarettes, the rearwardly folded extensions of said cover normally maintaining the said cover snugly over said book of matches, said cover and adjacent outer portions thereof including elongated cutouts, rendering said cover outer portions freely flexible facilitating manual lifting of said cover to extend normally outward of said backing for access to said matches.

2. The leaf match case of claim 1, a bottom wall extending normally forward of said rear wall and terminating in an upright closure tab cooperatively engaging said backing, said book of matches including a back cover, there being an elongated slot through the forward References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Brooks Mar. 11, 1952 Smith Sept. 23, 1958 

